Arsenal transfer news: Man City and Real Madrid battle to sign Alexis Sanchez

While The Independent is claiming, once more, that Pep Guardiola is lining up a £50million bid for Alexis Sanchez next month, the Daily Star says that it’s Real Madrid who are homing in on the Arsenal striker.

Quoting Spanish outlet Don Balon, the Star says that Sanchez would prefer a move to Madrid and that’s music to the ears of Real coach Zinedine Zidane.

He’s apparently ready to “offload Lucas Vazquez to make room for the Chile international”, with the Star saying that Roma are interested in signing the 26-year-old next month.

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Meanwhile, Sevilla chairman Jose Castro has dismissed speculation that Steven N’Zonzi has arrived in London to talk terms with Arsenal.

The former Stoke City midfielder is currently playing in La Liga but the Spanish press allege that the 28-year-old Frenchman’s future is in “serious doubt following a bust-up with manager Eduardo Berizzo”.

The pair don’t see eye-to-eye apparently, and when N’Zonzi was seen boarding a flight to London earlier in the week tongues began to wag.

Arsenal are known to have sent scouts to Sevilla in recent weeks, but Castro has rubbished claims he is in the city to speak to the Gunners.

“He has travelled to London to visit his son with our permission,” explained the chairman, in comments carried by Metro. “There aren’t any offers to sign N’Zonzi. I can’t talk about clauses or prices if we don’t have an offer.”

Finally, talkSPORT says that such is Arsenal’s determination to re-sign Oguzhan Ozyakup they are prepared to “waive their sell-on clause”.

The Turkish midfielder was on the Gunners’ books back in the day, only to be moved on by Arsene Wenger in 2012 when he joined Besiktas. A 30% sell-on clause was nonetheless inserted into Ozyakup’s contract when he left the Emirates, meaning that if the day did ever come when Arsenal wanted him back it would cost them considerably less.

But talkSPORT says that Arsenal are ready to offer Besiktas £11m for the playmaker and they will even overlook the 30% reduction.